Why Should We Recycle Used Oil?

Surely you have thought about what to do with the leftover oil when you finish cooking your favorite fries. Here, we tell you about the importance of oil recycling, a key to stopping water contamination.

Did you know that one of the main causes of water pollution is oil being spilled down the drains in homes and factories? Learn more about how oil recycling is one of the many sustainable practices used at Sandos Caracol Eco Resort.

Day by day, ecological awareness becomes a more important and necessary part of our consumer habits, whether for health or sustainability, and we cannot forget the important role we play when handling oil, whether it’s the kind we use for cooking or for transportation.

Tomada de/Taken from: goodfood.com.au

In addition to water, oil pollutionalso affects insects and animals, prevents photosynthesis in plants, and interrupts the food chain. As for the soil and subsoil, the oil covers and/or kills organisms that are necessary to maintain environmental balance.

And although we are aware to some extent of the damage we do to our environment, many of us also think that since we just throw out a little oil, the impact is little or inexistent, and nothing is further from the truth. We are responsible for knowing how to recycle oil. Did you know that one liter of oil can contaminate up to 40 thousand liters of water? Therefore, it is important to be responsible when handling all types of oils and to know where to take the used oil.

When we pour the used oil into the sink or toilet, we turn our waste into a source of pollution for oceans, rivers and lakes, not to mention the problems in the sewagenetworks, plus it increases water treatment costs.

Look at this experiment (please do not try it by yourself) where a spoonful of olive oil covers a whole lake.

Fortunately, there are biodiesel companies that take advantage of waste oil to convert them into biofuel, a renewable energy that respects the environment, and since less CO2 is emitted in its combustion, it reduces the “greenhouse effect”.

But how does the oil get to these treatment plants? Commonly, there are used oil collection centers in many cities, so if you are looking for where to recycle used oil, we invite you to take a step forward and look in your local directory to find the nearest recycling location for oil in your area.

As for the companies, they are more regulated than individuals when it comes to managing their waste. Their service stations are continuously evaluated through audits, in addition to the increase in the importance of certifications that seek to make practices more environmentally friendly; this means that we are indeed moving forward.

However, it’s necessary to go even further. Sandos Caracol is aware of the importance of maintaining sustainable practices and policies, even more so in the hotel sector, which is why the hotel not only fulfills the regulations required by Mexican law, but also seeks to have a positive impact and serve as an example for other sectors.

This has not gone unnoticed; thanks to our eco-friendly hotel practices and policies, the prestigious Rainforest Alliance organization honors Sandos Caracol with an annual verification to recognize the hotel as a true eco resort.

In the kitchens of our hotel, the oil is not poured into the sink but is deposited in marked containers and then taken to our oil collection area, to be later periodically collected by a recycling company, which is also committed to the environment.

So far in 2018 (January and February), Sandos Caracol has recovered more than 1,500 liters of vegetable cooking oil for further treatment and combustion

This recycling company is specialized in waste management, and is part of a list of suppliers that, like SandosCaracol, undergo training and constant monitoring as part of a program of responsible waste management and sustainable practices through our environmental department.

As a family hotel in the Riviera Maya, not only do we offer the opportunity to meet nature, but we also use good environmental practices and are constantly improving operational processes to ensure the conservation of the ecosystem.